


a proper cat

by keepthemclose



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:08:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepthemclose/pseuds/keepthemclose
Summary: The last thing she wanted was for her demonic cat to drive out the guy she’d been flirting with for months, the bartender who scowled at everyone else but smiled a lot when he spoke with her.Arya's cat hates everybody — except Gendry, the guy she hooks up with every week. Arya finds herself falling for him because of that.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 64
Kudos: 317
Collections: Still Rowing: A Gendrya Centric Fanfic Collection





	a proper cat

**Author's Note:**

> Response to [the prompt](https://gendryaprompts.tumblr.com/post/632517379329556480/): "My fuckbuddy is kind to my cat and my cat likes him. I’m starting to have feelings for him because of that."
> 
> Just straight fluff.

Sansa said it wasn’t good to live alone, so Arya got a cat.

Balerion was a rescue from the shelter, a black cat with bright yellow eyes, a chewed-up right ear, and a mean hiss. She immediately connected with his defensive disposition. She understood that it meant he came from a difficult life and that she would have to earn his trust.

It took many months of vicious biting and arm scratches for them to reach a kind of detente. Arya would set out his food and water, clean his litter box, and otherwise leave him alone. Balerion didn’t appreciate any kind of cuddling or petting. He couldn’t be won over by catnip or toys. He didn’t greet her with meows when she got back from classes or curl up next to her on the couch. The closest he got was perching on the arm of the sofa while she sat on the other end, both respecting the other’s space.

Balerion did, however, occasionally slip out the back door of her ground floor apartment for a few days at a time and would return with a dead bird or rodent. He’d lay the bloody bodies at her feet and then walk away to lick his paws. Arya came to realize this was his way of showing affection, even if it meant snapping on gloves to dispose of dead animals.

Her brothers had stopped coming by her apartment as frequently once Balerion moved in. Theon thought the cat was possessed by a demon. Sansa came around occasionally, but always kept her distance and never stayed for more than an hour.

“You have the rudest cat I’ve ever met,” Sansa observed as Balerion yowled at her presence. “This is like the tenth time he’s met me and he still hates me!”

Arya shrugged, “To be fair, Balerion hates everyone.”

* * *

The first time she brought Gendry back to her apartment, she worried what Balerion’s reaction would be. It wouldn’t be the first time he scared off one of Arya’s one night stands. (And if she was being completely honest, Balerion had also saved her from a few regrets.)

But Gendry was different.

The last thing she wanted was for her demonic cat to drive out the guy she’d been flirting with for months, the bartender who scowled at everyone else but smiled a lot when he spoke with her. Arya wasn’t looking to date, but she liked the way Gendry’s blue eyes raked over her body and had been wondering what it would be like to be held down by those strong arms.

Arya twisted out of Gendry’s embrace as she fumbled to get her keys in the lock. Gendry couldn’t keep his hands off her, his lips trailing down to her neck while he toyed with the hem of her shirt.

“I should warn you,” Arya gasped at his touch. “I have a cat.”

Gendry nodded, “I’m not allergic or anything.”

“He’s kind of an asshole,” she said.

“Then he’s a proper cat.”

They managed to make it to the bedroom without running into Balerion. Perhaps he was out hunting unsuspecting squirrels.

All of Arya’s coherent thoughts dissolved as Gendry mapped her body with his hands, then his tongue. From what she’d observed at the bar, he was a man of few words, but he proved talkative in bed, tickling the shell of her ear as he whispered all the things he wanted to do to her.

Gendry seemed to delight in embarrassing her. He worked her up with his mouth and pulled away just when she was about to peak, prompting a pitiful whine. Whenever he hit a spot that made her mouth drop open in a moan that even she would’ve considered exaggerated, he grinned at her wickedly and continued the punishing rhythm of his hips.

“You like that?” he teased, his large hands encircling her small wrists, pinning them against the bed.

All Arya could do was nod and arch into him as much as he’d let her.

When they finished, Arya walked him to the door. Guarding the threshold was Balerion.

She’d seen Balerion grab onto Jon’s wrist with two paws and gnaw at his thumb. He bared his teeth and swiped at anyone who came close to him. But when Gendry approached him and crouched down to his level, Balerion just sat still.

“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” Gendry’s voice was animated, as if he was talking to a child. He reached out and stroked Balerion’s head.

Her cat blinked a few times, as if dazed by the new sensation. Not only didn’t he try to bite Gendry, he actually tilted his head into Gendry’s palm.

“I thought you said he was an asshole,” Gendry said, scratching behind the cat’s ears.

“He _is_ ,” Arya sputtered. Even _she_ hadn’t ever been able to pet Balerion like Gendry was doing now.

“You like that, buddy?” Gendry laughed as Balerion closed his eyes in contentment.

Arya tried to ignore the shiver that shot down her spine at his words. _You like that?_

“I’ve got to go now, but I’ll be back,” he looked up at Arya expectantly. “If your owner likes me.”

“She does.”

“Then she’s getting a free G&T next Friday.”

Gendry stood up to his full height and pulled Arya in for a firm kiss. He gave her one final lopsided grin as he slipped out the door. Arya pulled her robe tighter around her and gave him a small wave.

This man had a habit of robbing her of her ability to talk.

“What’s wrong with you?” Arya cast a glance at her cat who was now forlornly pawing the air Gendry left behind.

Balerion looked up at her, narrowed his eyes, and hissed.

* * *

They quickly fell into a routine.

When he was working at the bar, she would come by and stay with him until closing. On the days he wasn’t working late, Gendry would come over to Arya’s after she got back from the library, just as the sun was setting.

The first thing he did when he walked through the door was to greet her cat. Balerion would pad over to the entrance and Gendry would stroke his forehead until his eyes closed.

Then he’d stand up, kiss her with an intensity that made her knees shake, and tell her to get on the bed.

Or the couch. Or to bend over the table.

He learned just where to touch her to have her writhing in his arms. She found all the spots that made his hips stutter, the things that made him groan desperately against her mouth. For the most part, Gendry liked to anchor her to the nearest available surface and dissolve her into a pleading mess. But his eyes would always flash something fierce whenever she took charge and straddled his lap.

And sometimes, after Arya shoved Gendry back onto the couch, Balerion would jump into Gendry’s lap first, tucking his little feet underneath so he formed a perfect little loaf. Then, he had the audacity to start _purring_.

Stupid cat.

Gendry only laughed, a full-bodied laugh that put her at ease. He gave Balerion a few pets and stroked him under the chin in the way he liked. Then, he kissed Balerion’s head, placed him on the floor and hauled Arya onto his lap.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Balerion purr,” she said as Gendry kissed the hollow of her throat.

“I prefer making you purr,” he smirked.

“I can’t believe you just said that. Why do I keep you around again?”

Gendry gripped her hips and ground himself against her, the friction making Arya let out a soft _fuck_.

“That’s why.”

* * *

“By all intents and purposes, you’re dating,” Sansa declared a few months into Arya and Gendry’s hookups. “He’s over at yours all the time, you’re both not seeing anyone else, and he’s even looked after your goblin cat when you were out of town!“

It was true. What had started as a perfunctory weekly rendezvous had now devolved into overnight stays, cooking in the kitchen, and running errands together. Where they used to only text each other the bare minimum to coordinate when and where to meet up, they were now always exchanging messages and funny links throughout the day. Each one carried the subliminal message, _I’m thinking about you_. Gendry was always among the last three people Arya texted.

They never talked about their relationship but Gendry didn’t seem to mind. He fixed her creaky cabinets without asking and cooked her breakfast in bed on her birthday. He even bought Balerion a fish toy filled with catnip.

Arya didn’t know why, but Gendry’s kindness towards her cat only made her like him more.

The more time they spent together, the harder it was for Arya when Gendry left. He’d begun accumulating a fair share of clothes in one of her dresser drawers. He left his razor on her sink. She found it hard to fall asleep without curling into the warmth of his body.

Balerion’s shifts in moods mirrored hers. He was always more irritable in Gendry’s absence and liked to snuggle against Gendry’s neck at every possible opportunity. Sometimes when they watched a movie and Gendry dozed off, Arya would look over and see Balerion kneading Gendry’s stomach with his paws and something in her own chest would tighten.

 _This was her family_.

They hadn’t even talked about whether they were officially in a relationship but part of her wanted to ask Gendry to move in. It was a ludicrous thought but at this point, she couldn’t imagine her life without Gendry in it.

There was one embarrassing day when Gendry was gathering his stuff to leave and Balerion wouldn’t stop following him around the apartment. He meowed for five minutes straight. As Gendry put on his shoes, Balerion started screaming.

“Hey buddy, what do you want? You want to come with?” Gendry chuckled.

Balerion howled and threw himself on the ground dramatically.

 _I know how you feel_ , Arya thought to herself.

“I think he wants you to stay,” she offered. “For good.”

She didn’t know why those last two words slipped out of her mouth, but once they were out there, she held her breath for Gendry’s response.

“Yeah?” he stood up and walked over to her.

“He hates it when you’re not around.”

“And what about you?“ he asked. “What are you like when I’m not around?”

Gendry’s eyes met hers. His usual lopsided smile was replaced with an earnest look.

“I miss you,” she breathed. “I pretty much act like Balerion. Just throwing fits all over the place really.”

Gendry cradled her face in his palms and grinned, “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

Arya nodded, “I love you, you know.”

The intensity in his gaze made her want to look away. If only it could be as easy as dropping a dead bird at his feet.

“Gods, I love you, Arya Stark,” he murmured against her lips.

Before they could kiss each other senseless, they were interrupted by Balerion’s loud mewling as he wound his way between their legs.

“I love you too, Balerion,” Gendry sighed.

Arya grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bedroom. She made sure to shut the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi [on Tumblr](https://keepthemclose.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
